Life of Kai
by Wolfsaint
Summary: This is an answer to a request. It was a fantastic idea so I went along with it. This is an introduction into the Life of the young Avatar Kai where emotions abound and Kai's story is just beginning. Read and Reviews much loved! :
1. Flashbacks

_I got a request for a story introducing Kai. I thought it was a really great idea so here it is. By the way, Aang does not exist in my stories because Kai is the main character. The second chapter of this will be up as soon as I can get it written. Enjoy! _

The angry prince's shouting voice sent a jolt of pain deep into Kai's heart. For the hundredth time she wondered how she could have fallen so madly in love with this young man who hated her so much.

No, she thought, not now. Focus! Shoving all thoughts of love aside, she whipped around in a circular motion and smiled as the blast of air blew Zuko backward a good twenty feet. He made a satisfying crunchy sound as he skipped off of the ground and finally came to rest near the edge of the cliff. Kai's smug mood didn't last long, for in an instant he was back on his feet, the fire of hatred in his eyes.

He noticed Katara before she did. The waterbender rushed up to help, and Zuko turned his fire blast on her instead. Without even a thought as to the safety of her own life, Kai leapt in front of Katara and blew her swiftly out of the line of fire. Katara was safe, but it was then that Kai realized that she had landed with her back to her enemy in the path of Zuko's fireball hurtling toward her, crackling with anger and energy.

Before she could even turn, Kai was struck by a pain so intense it sent her to her knees. The true agony overwhelmed every sense. It was the feeling of all of the skin on her back being peeled off slowly. It was the sound of the flames licking her skin with their wild fury that drowned out all other sounds. It was a scent so bitter, it stung her nose as well. It was the taste of bile and acid and blood all mixed together. And it was the red haze that blinded her to all other sights.

And then, just as quickly as her world had exploded, it disappeared.

Huh, that's strange, she thought. I feel…good. The first thing she noticed about her sudden change of surroundings was the fact that she didn't feel any pain. Shouldn't she be in mind numbing agony? Surely what Zuko had done had nearly killed her. Perhaps she was dead. Was this the afterlife? Had she already been reborn as a waterbender? If she had, she probably wouldn't be thinking right now, so that theory was out. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to find out exactly where she was.

The fact that she was watching a memory was obvious immediately due to the fact that she was looking at herself run across the yard of her old house. Right away, tears began to flow freely down her cheeks, but she found she could not look away and she was soon lost in the memory of what her life used to be.


	2. Heartbreak and Revelations

_Well, here's the second chapter of Life of Kai, the story of the young Avatar's past, and our introduction into her world. Enjoy _

The little girl could only have been three years old. As the older Kai watched her skip merrily across the grassy front yard of the home she really couldn't remember. She had been too young when her world was turned upside down, and what little she did remember she has shoved stubbornly into the recesses of her mind. She stood, enraptured, on the fringes of the memory of her childhood, both eager and afraid to learn about her own past.

She watched her younger self run around and play with different things in the yard for a few minutes before her attention started to wander to other aspects of the home. Instantly, she was struck by a jumble of emotions so intense, it took her breath away. Disbelief, pain, fear, more disbelief, anger and surprise raged through her mind when she realized that the home she was looking at was clearly the home of Fire Nation citizens.

Why was she at a Fire Nation home? She couldn't be Fire Nation, she was an air bender! It had to be impossible. She took a closer look at the little girl and found that, sure enough, she was clad entirely in red, and she was wearing the symbol of the Fire Lord around her neck. Kai suddenly felt dizzy. She didn't have much time to dwell on this new revelation, for the little Kai had begun eavesdropping on her parents through the kitchen window.

"Namo, I'm worried about Qian," the woman said as she wrung her hands together.

The man who must have been Namo grabbed her shoulders and said with a terrified expression on his face, "What is it Ming, what happened!"

"Well, nothing terrible." Ming said as she shrugged out of Namo's grip. The unspoken 'yet' on the end of her statement was as loud as if she had screamed it.

"Then what is wrong with her?" Namo asked, looking very confused.

"I don't know!" Ming shouted, throwing her hands up in the air in a motion that belied her worry for her daughter. She turned to look at her husband with watery eyes and stones in her heart. "But I think she might be…" her words trailed off and she turned away, still wringing her hands as if she were ashamed of the news she was about to give. "I think she might be an airbender"

Ming was crying openly now, her tears forming glistening trails on her cheeks. Namo on the other hand seemed to be completely frozen. Kai's own heart was racing with all that she had heard. Her name wasn't really Kai? She was Fire Nation but an airbender? She was horrified but found that she could not turn her attention from the scene before her.

"Why do you say that?" Namo had thawed out enough to speak and look skeptical at his wife's accusation.

"Because earlier today, I was watching her play through the window," Ming said, pacing around the small kitchen. "And just so you know, there was absolutely no wind," she paused to clarify this point. "She was playing with a butterfly, and she waved her hand in a circular motion like this," Ming waved her own hand in a circle in the air in front of her. "And all of a sudden, this huge gust of wind started blowing outward from exactly where she was sitting." Ming was sobbing so hard now she seemed to be having trouble breathing.

"That doesn't mean anything Ming!" Namo didn't look as if he believed what he had said at all.

"Namo, a blast of air blew outward in a circle all around her, where there had been no wind minutes before! Our child is an airbender! How can that possibly be?" Ming shouted.

"Did anyone else see?" Namo's face had turned to stone.

"No"

"Do you have any idea what this means?" He whispered. His eyes shifted from each of the different windows and doors in the house as if he was expecting Fire Nation soldiers to erupt through them at any moment.

"But she can't be!" Ming cried. "She's Fire Nation! And she's just a child!"

"It doesn't matter Ming. If anyone finds out that the Avatar is alive, and that we're harboring her…" He shuddered, the statement to horrifying to continue. "She cannot be allowed to live."

Kai's heart which had been racing a moment ago, plummeted nearly to her feet. She could not believe what she was hearing. Her own parents were plotting her murder before her very eyes! She turned to look at the little girl who had somehow managed to trap a beetle in a ball of air and was laughing at its feeble attempts to escape. Even if she was an airbender-all of whom were supposed to be incredibly skilled from an early age-she should not be able to perform feats of this level so perfectly and with so much control. Even so, the girl was so young, sweet and innocent. How anyone, especially her own parents, could consider such a heinous act was completely beyond her. Her mind barely registered the rest of the conversation.

"We'll walk her down to the ocean tomorrow. No one will ever know. Everything will be alright." Namo was saying.

"Ok." Ming sighed, her voice surprisingly emotionless considering that she was about to lead her own daughter to her death.

Kai continued to stare at the young girl whose life was about to take a turn for the absolute worst.


	3. Horror, Disbelief, and Lots of Tears

_This is the third installment of Life of Kai. What will happen to the young Kai? Why had she forgotten her own name? Why had she forgotten her own past? All of these questions and more will be revealed. Just keep reading! Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated! Enjoy_

The memory blurred and melted together until it was nothing but a big blob of colors and sounds indistinguishable from one another. Kai's stomach flipped and flopped until she was sure she would loose what little breakfast she had managed to eat before the attack that morning. Fortunately, the world settled back into something resembling what it had before. Actually, it didn't resemble the earlier setting at all, but there were trees and grass and the world had separated back into distinct bits and pieces that she could recognize.

This time, the family was taking an innocent looking stroll along the beach. The sun had already sunk below the horizon, but there were still other people swimming, strolling, and basically having a nice time. Only the family's expression gave away their anxiety. The way the parents' eyes shifted around nervously and their fingers drummed against their thighs made it clear that they were just waiting for everyone to leave so that they could murder their daughter who was completely oblivious to the tension in the air.

Kai felt the tears trace their way slowly down her face to drop sluggishly into her clothes. She wept for the young girl who had no idea how awful her parents truly were. She wept for the life of comfort and happiness she had lost this night and she wept for the shattered illusions she had harbored all of her life that perhaps her family still loved her and had been searching for her all this time.

As Kai had been contemplating, the beach had cleared out. As she noticed this, Kai's heart began to race once again in fear for the little, pale haired girl who used to be her. From where she was standing, she could just hear what the parents were saying now that the girl had wandered several feet away.

"Ok, Ming," Namo said, "It's time." He nodded slightly to his wife, then turned a hard gaze on his daughter.

"Alright." Ming said obediently hanging her head. Whether in sadness for the girl or worry for her own future, Kai did not know.

Namo's stone gaze seemed to get even harder, if that was even possible, as he stalked toward the young girl who was now making sand…well, she was doing something with sand.

The girl's high pitched, terrified cry when her father grabbed her pierced straight into Kai's very soul, and her stream of tears became a rushing river. She didn't want to see what happened next, but found that she could not look away.

Namo dragged the girl, kicking and screaming in terror and confusion to the edge of the water. The young Kai screamed even harder when the water lapped against her shins, as if she knew what was about to happen. Now Kai knew where her phobia of water came from.

"I'm sorry," Namo said softly, but without regret in his voice or eyes as he stared down at the girl. "But this must be done. May you find it in you to forgive us if we meet again in the next world."

With that, he pulled the poor, terrified girl deeper into the water. Her cries turned to horrifying gurgling sounds as she disappeared beneath the waves. Her hair, glistening in the moonlight, floated on the surface for a moment before being pulled farther and deeper out into the ocean.

Namo watched, stone-faced as the current dragged her down and out. So far and deep that no one would ever find her. Kai watched in horror, hoping that the girl would show some incredible innate ability to swim or perhaps waterbend herself out and take revenge on her horrible parents, but nothing happened. The ocean resumed its peaceful bobbing without even a bubble from where she had disappeared.

Several minutes passed, and no one moved. They all stared into the ocean, the darkness of the night growing deeper with each passing moment. More moments passed, more silence. Kai continued to cry for the lost girl. This couldn't be the end though right? She was still alive! Kai sniffed and wiped her face, deciding then and there that she would not give up on her younger self. She would continue to watch until she found out what really happened to the little girl who had been so cruelly betrayed by the family that was supposed to love and support her forever.


	4. An Unexpected Visitor

_Viola! Here it is, the fourth installment of Life of Kai? What will happen to the young Kai? Where exactly is Kai? Is she in the Spirit World or just a memory? Keep reading to find out. _

"It is done." Namo said, breathing a sigh of relief. "The Fire Lord will never find out about this," he said, more to himself than his wife. He took several deep breaths and placed a hand over his heart. Ming said nothing.

Kai couldn't stifle the hideous snarl that ripped its way out of her throat. Terrified that the couple might have heard her, she clamped her hand over her mouth and ducked behind a nearby cluster of rocks.

"They cannot hear or see you," said an elderly male voice to her left. Caught completely off guard, Kai let out her loudest girl scream and rocketed about twenty feet into the air. Literally. The elderly male was waiting patiently with a serene smile on his face when Kai floated gently to the ground.

"Oh my goodness!" she yelled. "Do not ever do anything like that to me ever again! By the way, who are you?" Suspicion was written all over her face. Strange elderly men suddenly appearing in the middle of her memories didn't exactly warrant immediate trust in her book. And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that she knew him from somewhere.

"My name is Roku," the elderly man said with a slight inclination of his head that could have been a bow. The instant she heard his name, she remembered where she knew him from. He was indeed old, but the power his body held was obvious from the way he carried himself. He wore traditional Fire Nation robes along with the crown prince's headpiece. Now that was interesting. His pure white hair was cut in the traditional way for Fire Nation noblemen. His eyes were the traditional Fire Nation gold. On the outside he appeared to be the average Fire Nation man of importance, but Kai could see deeper to the sparkle in his eyes that betrayed his wisdom and knowledge of the world.

"Avatar Roku," she said reverently. She had heard so much about the Avatar that had come before her nearly one hundred years ago. He was supposed to have been one of the wisest men who had ever lived. It was truly an honor to meet him. But wait, hadn't he died a long time ago? "With all due respect, aren't you supposed to be…you know…" Kai found that she couldn't bring herself to say the word.

"Dead?" Roku finished for her. "Yes, my mortal form expired nearly one hundred years ago, but the spirits of all the past Avatars live on here in the Spirit World."

It took a moment for that statement to sink in. "Wait," Kai said, now utterly bemused. "The Spirit World? Here?" Her voice rose in pitch steadily as she tried to wrap her brain around what the former Avatar was saying. "I-we're in the Spirit World?" Kai's brow was wrinkled in confusion and her eyes were closed as if she was searching for the answers behind her eyelids.

Roku's smile was kind and understanding when he replied, "Yes young airbender. You are in the Spirit World. As the Avatar, you are the bridge between this realm and the realm of the physical. You will journey here many times throughout the course of your life for various reasons. And I will always be here to help guide you along your way."

A musical trumpeting sound suddenly erupted into the night, and Kai had to cover her ears, not because it was a horrible noise but because it was just so _loud_! The roar battered Kai's eardrums with the force of an earthbender pounding her ears with stones. Through eyes squinted at the roaring sound, Kai could just make out the shape that was hurtling toward them. The creature stopped roaring and Kai managed to laugh and shout excitedly, "A dragon! Oh he's magnificent! He looks so much like Koru!"

"This is Fang." Roku said when the big red dragon landed curled in a circle around him. "Did you say you have a dragon as well?" He scratched Fang's head lovingly as he spoke. The dragon's eyes closed in pleasure.

"Yeah, I have a green dragon. Her name is Koru." Fang looked at her with an expression that almost seemed to ask, 'please?' Kai laughed and began scratching his head along with Roku. Fang's tongue lolled out and he panted when the pleasure doubled. Kai felt better than she had in a while. Playing with Fang almost made her forget why she was in the Spirit World in the first place. Almost.

"Kahn is your animal spirit guide. A companion in the physical world to help you on your journeys." Kai's throat constricted painfully when thoughts of the young girl alone in the ocean, betrayed by her parents, rushed back into her mind. All she could do was nod.

Roku's understanding, sympathetic smile transformed him into an old friend. "The girl will be just fine. Watch." For the second time that night, the universe swirled and melted together and made Kai really want to hurl, but just before she exploded, everything settled back down again.

Kai panicked immediately. They had reappeared under the ocean. Kai's worst fear was surrounding her, engulfing her, suffocating her, _drowning her_! She thrashed and kicked and screamed for several minutes before she realized that she could still breathe and hear her own screams loud and clear. Still slightly terrified, she clung to Roku's arm like a lifeline. Her breath came in sharp pants and her heart still raced.

"Look, young Avatar." Roku gently directed Kai's eyes to the scene before them.

It was without a doubt, the strangest thing Kai had ever seen.


	5. I'm Alright

_Whew, I'm writing as fast as I can! Seriously, I have been glued to my computer for the last four days. I'm just as excited about writing this as you guys hopefully are about reading it! Anyway, here is the fifth installment of Life of Kai, where all of Kai's (and yours as well) questions are answered. What happened that night, and why can't Kai remember anything? Keep reading to find out! _

The scene before Kai was so strange and unfamiliar that it took a few moments to work out what exactly was going on. She still clung desperately to Roku's arm even though there was nothing about the water that could harm her in the Spirit World. The vice grip she had on him only got tighter as she continued to try to sort out the images a few yards away.

An enormous ball of ice drifted lazily deeper into the ocean before them. Inside the ball of ice was the real strange part. The entire thing was lit from within by a powerful, bluish glow that lit up the whole ocean as far as Kai could see. The light seemed to emanating from a small figure in the center of the giant ice ball.

"Roku, who is that in the ice? Should we do something to help?" Kai's brows knitted together in the worry that was evident in her voice.

"See for yourself." Roku said, and suddenly the two of them were speeding along through the ocean until they nearly had their noses pressed against the ice. Kai squealed a little when they approached a rather mean-looking tiger shark. She squealed even louder when she and Roku phased right through the tiger shark as if it wasn't even there or better yet as if they themselves weren't even there. Kai remembered then that she was in the Spirit World so the whole intangibility thing made sense.

Once they had screeched to a halt in front of the gigantic ball of glowing ice, the figure inside was clearly visible. Kai's gasp echoed, unheard by any but Roku and herself as she stared at the little girl in the iceberg. The inside must have been hollow because the girl's pale yellow hair billowed around her gently in a nonexistent wind. The three year old Kai was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the hollow space with her eyes closed, head bowed and fists pressed together over her heart.

"Roku, what-what is this?" Kai stuttered. "What's going on?"

He replied in his feathery voice, "With the young Avatar minutes away from death at the hands of her own parents her body went into a state of distress, triggering the Avatar state. It is a defense mechanism. When you are in danger or great emotional turmoil your body feels it cannot handle, you will trigger the Avatar state. The glow is the combination of all your past lives focusing their energy through you allowing you to do extraordinary things." Roku stared at the young girl with the same serene smile he had worn the entire time.

"The glow?" Kai asked. "You mean my body glows?"

"Not exactly. The ice is glowing with your power, but in the Avatar state your eyes and any tattoos you have will glow."

"Oh, I understand. So I was trapped in this iceberg for thirteen years?"

"Actually it was more like one hundred years." Roku said calmly.

"One hundred years?" Kai screeched. "Wait, if I'm three here, but I was sixteen when I came out of that iceberg…how did that happen?"

"A three year old would not be able to handle the stress that you have had to handle since you emerged so the Avatar state aged your body to a point where you would be able to survive."

"Oh, I see." She nodded like she understood, but she really didn't get it all.

"Make sense of what you have seen here Qian," Kai jerked a little in surprise when he used her real name she hadn't even known about a few hours ago. His golden eyes seemed to bore into her silver ones. "Come to my home on the summer solstice. I will be able to speak to you more about many things you need to know."

An image of a crescent moon shaped island flashed in her mind. "Thank you Avatar Roku." She said, finally letting go of him long enough to bow to him, her hand, fingers extended, heel resting on her fist over her heart in the traditional Fire Nation bow.

"Go back now," Roku's smile widened as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go back and continue your journey. We will meet again." He moved his hand to Kai's forehead, and before she could even say goodbye, the world was gone, along with sight, sound and everything else.

Kai felt herself settle back into the physical world with a collective sigh that seemed to come from the universe itself. Her eyes fluttered open and she was instantly bombarded with the sights and sound of her friends.

One voice rose above the babble of the others who were yelling at her. "Oh my goodness, she's awake!" That voice sounded like Katara but with everyone shouting at once it was hard to tell.

They were all clustered around her head, their faces pressing in on her. Toph stared blankly in her general direction. It was difficult to tell, but she looked rather excited to see her awake. Sokka's enormous, goofy smile and Katara's concerned, motherly look touched her heart in a way it had not been touched in her entire life. She remembered the way her parents had turned against her and felt the now familiar tightening in her chest and throat of the tears that once again threatened to drown her.

"Kai, are you alright?" Katara asked.

She looked at the three faces above her, her true family, and said, "Yeah, I think I am." She couldn't help but smile.

* * *

And so concludes the revealing story of Kai's past. I hope that this answered most of your questions and I also hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stay tuned for more in the exciting saga of the young Avatar Qian! (who prefers being called Kai)

Reviews appreciated!


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